ORLANDO, Fla. – The Penn State softball team recorded one of its most dominant performances in recent memory on Saturday, with the Blue & White crushing the Ohio Bobcats and Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a pair of run-rule contests from the UCF Softball Complex. PSU celebrated its second day of competition at the SpaceU Classic by outscoring its opponents by a 30-3 differential, outpacing Ohio by a 16-1 margin in six innings before dismantling Notre Dame by a 14-2 final score in five frames.
Penn State’s 2026 roster is off to a dominant start, amassing a 12-2 overall record with one game remaining in the season’s first three weeks of action. The Nittany Lions are tied for the program’s third-best start through 14 games in school history, with just the 2024 and 1982 rosters booking better results with 13-1 records through their first 14 respective opportunities. PSU’s 2026 squad is tied with the 1978 team at 12-2. The Blue & White remain unbeaten during their trip to sunny Central Florida, logging a 4-0 record while outscoring its opponents by an astronomical 46-11 margin at the SpaceU Classic.
Ohio split its Saturday of action in Orlando, pairing its loss to Penn State with a strong win over Charleston Southern to leave the day with a 9-5 overall record as a team. Notre Dame dropped back to .500 on the year with a 7-7 mark and one game remaining on Saturday evening against host-UCF. In the all-time series between Penn State and Ohio, the Nittany Lions came away with a decisive run-rule victory in the ninth-ever meeting between the two programs, improving to 8-3 overall against the Bobcats with wins in each of the last five matchups. Against Notre Dame, PSU was able to avenge a 2025 loss at the NFCA Leadoff Classic with the program’s largest margin of victory against the Fighting Irish all-time, rising to 3-4 against UND following the seventh fixture.
The Nittany Lion offense generated their most runs in a single day since tallying 35 runs across two games on March 7, 2025, moving past Canisius by a 12-4 margin in six innings before dismantling Fairfield by a 23-0 score in five frames. The Blue & White combined for 27 hits with a .482 team-wide batting average, additionally logging a 1.291 OPS as a squad. The Nittany Lions collected 17 free passes from opposing pitchers, comprised of 16 walks and a hit-by-pitch, logging just five strikeouts on the day. Penn State held its opponents to a paltry .167 batting average with nine strikeouts against five walks allowed.
On an individual basis, sophomore center fielder Natalie Lieto dominated on both sides of the ball, hitting 4-for-5 across both games with six runs scored and a 1.750 daylong OPS in addition to a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Junior shortstop Kaylie Walters went 3-for-5 with five runs in both games, junior second baseman Michela Barbanente hit .500 with four RBI and three runs scored, and freshman outfielder Breanna Hanik booked a trio of hits and runs scored on the day. Of Penn State’s 27 hits, six went for extra bases on Saturday, with Lieto, Barbanente and Hanik logging doubles while freshman first baseman Kirsten Finarelli, freshman third baseman Allison Oneacre and freshman utility Gabby Gradishar each cranking home runs.
In the circle, junior right-handed pitcher McKenna Young led the Blue & White on the day with 3.0 innings pitched in game two against Notre Dame, allowing a single hit across her appearance with three strikeouts and a walk. Young, a native of Brodhead, Wisconsin, picked up the winning decision against the Fighting Irish to improve to 2-1 on the 2026 season. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Abigail Britton earned the other winning decision on Saturday, tossing a team-high 4.0 frames with two hits, one earned run, three walks and four strikeouts to her credit. Additional pitching appearances came from freshman southpaw Brevyn Kellepouris, who booked a pair of innings with zero runs allowed, in addition to junior righty Bridget Nemeth, who picked up the start and first 2.0 frames against Notre Dame.
The first game of the day saw Penn State jump in front from the start, with an error and two-run homer from Finarelli helping the Blue & White roar ahead by a 3-0 differential. The Nittany Lions utilized a sacrifice fly from Lieto to plate an additional score in the top of the second, but the Bobcats answered back with a single score in the bottom of the third. Wielding a 4-1 advantage heading into the top of the fifth inning, Penn State called on an RBI single from Seidel and the first collegiate home run from Gradishar to pull ahead by a 7-1 score. The bottom of the fifth passed without incident, and the Nittany Lions roared for a massive nine-run inning in the top of the sixth to secure the run-rule result in 16-1 fashion.
Penn State wasted little time powering ahead of Notre Dame in the home half of the first inning, with Oneacre blasting a two-run homer over the fence in left field to set the tone for Saturday’s finale. Notre Dame answered back with a pair of tallies in the top of the second, but a six-run frame from the Blue & White in the home half saw the Nittany Lions develop a lead they would never relinquish. PSU tacked on three more runs in both the third and fourth innings to secure the program’s first-ever run-rule win over Notre Dame in program history. The Blue & White combined for more runs against Notre Dame in the seventh all-time meeting than they had scored against the Fighting Irish in the prior six contests combined.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. OHIO)
Gabby Gradishar | 2-for-3, 2 R, 4 RBI, FIRST COLLEGIATE HR
Kirsten Finarelli | 3-for-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR
Abigail Britton | 4.0IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 4K, 17BF, 78TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS (VS. OHIO)
T1 | Lieto launched a leadoff double down the left field line, and a productive groundout from Oneacre bumped the Nittany Lion center fielder over 60 feet to third. A popup put two down, but a Barbanente walk kept the inning alive and placed runners on the corners. Barbanente stole second to bait a throw by the catcher, but the Bobcat’s toss sailed high to bring Lieto in and Barbanente over to third. In the next at-bat, Finarelli worked a 2-2 count and lifted a home run sky-high over the fence in left to give the Blue & White a three-run edge. PSU 3, OHIO 0
T2 | Hanik led the visitor’s half of the second off with a shallow single to the UCF logo in center field, moving to second via a stolen base during the next at-bat. A productive groundout ushered Hanik over to third, and Lieto lifted a sac fly to center to bring a Nittany Lion run aboard. PSU 4, OHIO 0
B3 | Sena Smith drew a leadoff walk, but a flyout in the next at-bat put one away. Colleen Bare walked to put runners on the right side, and Brenna Farmer singled to left center to bring Smith around. PSU 4, OHIO 1
T5 | With a liner on the board, Barbanente sent a first-pitch single to right field and promptly stole second base. A popup put two out, but a Seidel RBI single to center brought Barbanente aboard. In the following at-bat, Gradishar stepped into the box and clobbered the first pitch of her at-bat over the fence in left to muster her first collegiate home run. PSU 7, OHIO 1
T6 | Following a slew of defensive changes for the Bobcats, Walters and Lieto logged a pair of infield singles to place runners on the corners. A double steal call preceded an errant Ohio throw that saw Walters score and Lieto move to third. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, and Barbanente drew an RBI walk of her own to tack on another score. Finarelli smashed a single through the left side of the infield to plate two runs and leave runners on the left side of the infield. Seidel drew a walk to load the bases once again, and Gradishar directed a single through the right side to plate two more scores. An RBI grounder from Hanik plated another run, and a pinch-hit single from Jochims brought Gradishar in moments later. A productive groundout from George moved another Nittany Lion runner 60 feet from home, and a first-pitch RBI single from Oneacre helped score Penn State’s 16th and final run of the game. PSU 16, OHIO 1
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. NOTRE DAME)
Kaylie Walters | 2-for-2, 3 R, RBI, BB, SB
Allison Oneacre | 1-for-2, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR, 2 BB
McKenna Young | 3.0IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 3K, 11BF, 42TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS (VS. NOTRE DAME)
B1 | Lieto led off the home half of the first inning and watched the first four pitches of her plate appearance miss the zone for a walk. Oneacre stepped up and worked the count full following a gritty eight-pitch at-bat, pelting the eighth offering over the fence in left to give the Nittany Lions an early two-run edge. PSU 2, ND 0
T2 | A pair of infield singles from Sydny Poeck and Caroline O’Brien saw runners reach the right side, but a fielder’s choice put one away. Kaia Cortes doubled to left center, plating O’Brien from second base, and a Nittany Lion throwing error allowed Cortes to complete her journey home, unearned. PSU 2, ND 2
B2 | Three straight singles from Chamberlin, Bohner and Hanik left the bases loaded with Nittany Lions, and a well-placed single down the left field line from Walters brought Chamberlin aboard to give PSU the lead once again, leaving the bases juiced in the process. A fielder’s choice put one away with a force at home, but RBI from Oneacre and Klosowicz by way of free passes saw Penn State tack on two more scores in the next two plate appearances. Notre Dame elected to change pitchers, but Barbanente was disinterested in what the replacement had to offer, pelting the fifth pitch of her AB as a double to right that plated two more runs. A strikeout put two down, but Chamberlin kept things rolling with a walk to load the bases once again. Bohner closed the inning’s scoring out with an RBI walk that brought Klosowicz in. PSU 8, ND 2
B3 | Walters led the third inning off with a walk, and Lieto sent a single through the left side to put a pair of runners on. Oneacre generated a productive grounder to put both Penn Staters in scoring position, and Klosowicz placed an impeccable bunt down that scored a run, bumped Lieto to third and saw her take over at first base following the infield single. Barbanente booked an RBI single through the right side to bring Lieto in while advancing Klosowicz to third, and a wild pitch in the next at-bat saw Klosowicz score herself. PSU 11, ND 2
B4 | Hanik led the home half of the fourth off with a double to the right center gap, and Walters mustered a bunt single to place runners on the corners. Walters stole second, and Lieto reached first via a walk to load the bases in yet another inning for PSU. Oneacre drew an RBI walk to plate one run, and Klosowicz logged an infield single that created enough chaos for two more Nittany Lion runs to come aboard. PSU 14, ND 2
UP NEXT
Penn State softball wraps up its three-day stay in the Sunshine State of Florida with its final day of competition from the SpaceU Classic, with the Nittany Lions set for an early-morning getaway game against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers from the UCF Softball Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 9 a.m. (ET), with streaming available to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via ESPN+ and the ESPN app on connected devices.
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The 2026 Penn State softball season is presented by Highmark.